Challenge to Harmony

Philippians 2:2:

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

If you haven't read yesterday's post, go read it first.

In verse two, Paul issues to the Philippians a challenge to harmony. There are four things he asks them to do:

be like-minded. This doesn't mean they should all have the same ideas and thoughts and opinions. "Mind" refers to "attitude" here. We aren't to be "cookie cutter" Christians. Oneness of attitude comes from knowing the Lord and his Word.

have the same love. This indicates a unity of affection, a lifestyle of loving one another. Our love should be mutual. Have you ever tried loving someone who doesn't love you back? It's not very easy. When we love each other, we get this momentum of love going. Someone who refuses to love breaks the cycle and momentum is lost. Our attitude should be one of mutual love because that will eventually establish a momentum of love. Are we the ones who breaks out of the momentum of love? do we violate the norms of relationships?

be of one accord. This means co-souled, or soul-with-soul. It is a unity of life in love. Our common tuning instrument with each other is God. If we each individually keep our lives in tune with God, we can be in tune with each other. The discord will become lost in the orchestra of glorious praise to God.

be of one mind. "thinking the one thing." Think like Christ thinks.

1 Corinthians 2:16 - For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Romans 12:16 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Romans 15:5 - May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus

The content of our thinking should be the same as the Lord Jesus because we have his mind.
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I'm trying out UCC at 5pm tonight with Andrew. It's the same service as Sunday mornings, but they want people to try it so Sundays aren't so crowded and impossible to park. It'll be weird getting up tomorrow and not going to church.

I spent my morning/afternoon in the library. 9:30-2:30. 5 hours. I got some stuff done, but I also started realizing how much I still need to get done. The clock tower rang every hour on the hour and I realized how long it took me to do one assignment. I must be paying 12% interest on my homework every hour since the moment it's assigned. It feels like this stuff is building up and accumulating -- this weekend is too short! It's especially hard to get the reading done because it takes forever and usually I have to write a response afterward.

Last night I slept on my arms. So when my alarm went off this morning, I found great difficulty in shutting it off. Subsequently, I dropped my phone which forced me to get out of bed so I could reach it. Trying to move them hurt and I managed to get my fingers stuck -- interlocked together. I shook them out until I had full function again. I'm sure I looked quite silly.